Jaguar XJ used car review

Jaguar has a fine tradition of squeezing huge lifespans out of its various models over the years.

The very first XJ saloon range launched in 1968 ran until 1992, beyond even the point where its replacement had been in showrooms for years.

That second generation XJ ran in various forms (including some re-engineering) until 2009 when the next model stepped in.

And, believe it or not, that last XJ model, the X351 series, to give it its factory code-name, is still going strong, almost a decade later.

Those are incredible innings for road cars, even more so for the fact that the world of high-end, luxury cars is very fashion-driven and that tends to dictate shorter model-turnover periods.

In any case, that means the ducks have lined up for one particular variant of that latter-day Jaguar XJ range. As a usedie, anyway.

See, that lifespan means the earliest versions are quite a bit cheaper than they’ve ever been right now as depreciation does its thing. In turn, that means that the more expensive variants when brand-new are now not a whole lot more than the more pedestrian models. And since the shape is still current, the older, cheaper car you buy doesn’t automatically look like last year’s jacket.

So which version of the XJ are we talking about? None other than the supercharged V8 model dubbed the XJR.

While the XJ range had included supercharged V8 models, the XJR tag didn’t arrive until 2013, three years or so after the range first surfaced.

The X351 platform itself was all-new and the body style was the first major departure from the guidelines laid down by the style-masters of 1968. But if the look was new, one thing remained; that the Jaguar XJ was still a big, imposing luxury sedan which, in XJR form, was still up there with the fastest of them. In a straight line, anyway.

Speaking of which, the XJR could get from rest to 100km/h in about five seconds dead thanks to a five-litre V8 with a supercharger that made 405kW.

Even in 2019, that’s an awful lot of power and places the XJR in very special company, including various BMW M-cars, AMG Benzes and RS Audis, not to mention less mass-market devices like Bentleys and Aston Martins.

An eight-speed automatic transmission was your lot, but that made sense in the overall context of the car anyway.

About the only thing missing was all-wheel-drive but, back when the car was developed, other high-performance sedans like the BMW M5 and AMG E63 were also sticking with rear-wheel-drive.

The fact that the big Jag was electronically limited to a top speed of 280km/h tells you all you really need to know about its performance.

But what of the ownership experience? And had the bad memories of Jaguar’s appalling quality control of decades before been erased?

It’s a bit of a touchy subject as Jag aficionados (some of them, anyway) still have trouble with the concept of their chosen brand ever having made bad cars.

But it remains that early Jaguars were shockers and not for nothing did the urban myth arise that oil leaks have a Jaguar part number.

Dad-jokes aside, though, it’s also true that for the brand to have survived into the new millennium, something had to be done.

And that something was a buy-out of the Jaguar brand by Indian conglomerate Tata, one of the biggest companies in the world. Under Tata’s cashed-up stewardship, the Jaguar factory remained in Britain, but the money and quality focus were both the work of Tata.

Which means that by the time the XJR came along, not only was the whole Jaguar thing a much leaner, quality-oriented entity, it had also had a few years to work out how to build the XJ-based cars properly.

So, yes, the born-again Jaguar is not going to leave oily puddles on your driveway or leave you stranded on the way to work.

Probably, that is, because things were still not perfect, simply judging by the amount of recalls that plagued the XJ model generally.

Of those recalls, the ones that affected the XJR model started with cars built in 2014 which might have seen heavy-duty use (such as a race-track). Since the XJR was the fastest of the breed, it’s the one most likely to be affected and the recall was to check the rear suspension for a dodgy toe-link that could fail, leading to a loss of suspension control.

Cars from 2014 and 2015 were also recalled to check for a potential leak from the braking system after it was discovered that some examples had left the factory with incorrect torque on some of the fittings.

Some cars with a 2016 build-date were also affected by a driver’s airbag which was too slow to inflate in a crash, and some even later cars suffered a fault in the dashboard that could see the digital display simply vanish.

The engine itself seems okay, but there have been reports of problems with the supercharger unit. In some extreme cases, the internals of the supercharger developed excess clearance.

Owners can check for themselves by turning the radio off and listening to the engine. Any rattling from the top of the engine (and it’s a loud noise, you won’t miss it) is a sign of this, as is excessive whine form the supercharger under load.

Prices still seem high for the XJR, but you need to remember that the thing cost all but $300,000 when brand-new and to be able to grab a three-year-old example for about half that suddenly makes a bit more sense.

And that’s not necessarily a comment on Jaguar’s reputation, rather an observation on the whole of this rarefied sector of the market.

If you're interested in buying a second-hand Jaguar XJR check out all the models currently for sale on Drive.com.au here

Likes:

Dislikes:

Some quality niggles still possible.

Would have been even more capable with all-wheel-drive.

Aluminium body will be expensive and difficult to repair.

Depreciation hasn’t stopped yet.

Competitors:

Mercedes-AMG E63 – A legend in its own lifetime, the AMG E63 is a hugely popular choice despite the price of admission. Last of the normally-aspirated V8s was lovely, but later turbo V8 much more efficient. Brittle ride. 4 stars

BMW M5 – Typically efficient and brutally fast, but the M5 of this era lacks a bit of driver involvement and emerges as a wooden sort of thing to drive. Turbo V8 was a big step forward, though. 3 stars

Audi RS7 Sportback – Shares the Jaguar’s sloping roofline which (like the XJR) hampers rear headroom a bit. Quattro all-wheel-drive is a great safety measure and interior is a lesson on how to get it right. 4 stars.